Netanyahu: Iran crossed ‘red line,’ Israel’s action appropriate

Dozens of rockets were fired from Syria on the Israeli-occupied Golan overnight, a war monitor said Thursday, without confirming Israeli reports they were fired by Iranian forces. The two have never fought a war, but fears that may change in the near future are increasing.

Germany and Britain joined the USA in denouncing the rocket fire they also said came from Iran, while France reiterated its “unwavering support for Israel’s security”.

But the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called up a limited number of reserves Tuesday evening following what the IDF termed the “identification of irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria”.

Israel, too, may feel emboldened by US President Donald Trump’s decision this week to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. “Syria has every right to defend itself”, Iranian state TV quoted Qasemi as saying. And, Israeli officials said Syria’s government will be held responsible for “everything happening in its territory”. The global community’s silence encourages Israel’s aggression.

He said the United Nations chief, though relieved at “partial normalization of the situation”, has reiterated support to long-term de-escalation efforts and stability in the Middle East and has stressed a political solution to the conflicts. It was not immediately clear what was hit.

‘We will not let Iran turn Syria into a forward base against Israel, ‘ he added.

Syrian air defenses, which fired dozens of times on Israeli forces, were also targeted, he said.

Syrian activists reported Israeli airstrikes hitting targets near Damascus.

Three people were killed by the missiles, a spokesman said.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Israel’s air force had destroyed “nearly all” of Iran’s military infrastructure in Syria.

In a statement on Friday, Qassemi said the terror groups were in fact “proxies” waging a war on behalf of the US, Israel and their regional allies. Iran has neither confirmed nor denied that it was responsible for launching the attacks.

Wimmen said two actions could trigger a large-scale confrontation: a missile killing civilians in the Israeli-occupied Golan, or retaliation against Israel by Hezbollah. Meanwhile, Sivkov said that it is Israel that is actually responsible for the escalation in the region, as it repeatedly carried out strikes against targets in Syrian territory just because it “did not like” the fact that the Iranian forces are present in the war-torn country. “They are determined to do it and we are determined to prevent it”. “I hope we have finished this chapter”, Liberman said at a policy conference north of Tel Aviv in Herzliya. A presenter announced the Israeli strikes, sourcing the information to Syria’s state-run SANA news agency. Iran is institutionalizing its military presence there, to the distress of Israel, which has vowed to block the establishment of a permanent Iranian foothold. In addition, Israel launched more than 10 surface-to-surface tactical missiles on Syria, it said.

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 9, 2018. But Israel and Russian Federation have maintained close communications to prevent their air forces from coming into conflict.

Tensions have escalated between Iran and Israel in recent months.

According to Israel, the Iranian rockets were either intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system or fell short of their intended targets. Israel opened bomb shelters in the Golan Heights, but did not instruct people to enter the shelters. “We have seen a demonstration of the IDF’s intelligence and airpower capabilities”, he added about the retaliatory strikes, according to the Post.

“Iran strongly condemns. [Israel’s] attacks on Syria. It means we are on a collision course”. Israel is unapologetic and has declared its commitment to further disproportionate attacks. That revolution overthrew the monarchy in Iran and replaced it with the Islamic Republic.